


Convergence

by kuresoto



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Law Enforcement, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Lawyers, Police
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-21 23:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13751325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuresoto/pseuds/kuresoto
Summary: Other, also known as ‘soulmate’ for people who wanted to believe.Not everyone had an Other, and the only way to find your Other was by saying their name. When that happened, memories of their life, where they grew up and the steps that led them to you, would be condensed into a single flashback that passed in a blink of an eye. The fact that someone had said Rey’s name and didn’t bother approaching her hurt, especially since she had a good idea why. Her parents tossed her aside when she was barely five, so she shouldn’t be surprised that her soulmate had done the same.





	Convergence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [politicalmamaduck](https://archiveofourown.org/users/politicalmamaduck/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy this treat! I know next to nothing about law and police work, so I hope any discrepencies aren't too obvious, Miss Law Student ;) (It took me the whole fic to realise DA does _not_ mean defence attorney)
> 
> Thank you @melokatstapes99 for looking over this and catching any mistakes <3
> 
> prompt: you asked for anything, but soulmate modern au where rey is a cop and kylo is a lawyer

“Man, I am so glad this week is _over_!” Finn sighed as he lounged on Rey’s bed.

“For you maybe. I’m on call this weekend _and_ I still need to study for my exams.” Rey cracked open a beer and settled next to Finn. Both cradled greasy Chinese food in their laps as Rey flicked through the TV channels, stopping on Law and Order. “How’s this?”

Finn motioned his fork back and forth. “Nah, too serious. I need something more unrealistic after dealing with defence attorneys.”

“None of these shows are realistic, Finn,” Rey reminded.

“But Law and Order is somewhat realistic on how police work is done. You know, minus the whole intimidating barristers, which _does not happen_ ,” Finn said bitterly.

“Hey, if that was true then we wouldn’t be very good cops, would we?”

Finn shrugged half-heartedly. “I guess…”

Rey couldn’t be too hard on her fellow police officer. No one wanted to deal with defence attorneys and from the sound of it, the one assigned to Finn’s case was a real pain. Taking pity on her friend, she settled on CSI: Miami, knowing how much he loved the bad punchlines right as the main detective put on his sunglasses.

“Rey,” Finn mumbled at the end of the episode, slightly drowsy from the carb and MSG overload. “When you pass your exams, and you _will_ pass them with flying colors by the way, just promise that you won’t be cheesy like Horatio Caine.”

Rey let out a loud snort. “I mean, I’ll try, but no guarantees.”

As Finn gathered their rubbish, he caught sight of the bright red circle on Rey’s calendar and squinted at the writing. “Ten years,” he read out. “Has it really been ten years?”

“Looks like.”

“Do you think you’ll ever meet your Other, Rey?” Finn asked curiously.

Other, also known as ‘soulmate’ for people who wanted to believe. Rey hadn’t been one of them for a long time. With a sniff, she turned away. “Doubtful, at this rate.”

“I don’t know what’s worse: to never find your Other, or to find out that your Other has found you but doesn’t want to be with you. Your Other is a bit of an asshole, Rey, you know that, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she muttered, words bitter in her mouth.

Not everyone had an Other, and the only way to find your Other was by saying their name. When that happened, memories of their life, where they grew up and the steps that led them to you, would be condensed into a single flashback that passed in a blink of an eye. The fact that someone had said Rey’s name and didn’t bother approaching her hurt, especially since she had a good idea why. Her parents tossed her aside when she was barely five, so she shouldn’t be surprised that her soulmate had done the same.

Bringing her beer to her lips, Rey glared at the calendar. “I’m glad that it’s not a widespread thing. Date and marry whoever you want; don’t let some stupid magical system stop you.”

Finn raised his bottle to that. “Aye, aye, Detective Niima.”

“Hey, I haven’t passed my exams yet!”

“I know, but who are you kidding, Rey? Everyone on the Force knows you’ll smash it. Anyways, I best be heading off. Rose is about to finish her shift.” With a quick peck to her cheeks, Finn dropped both their containers into the bin before waving goodbye.

Once Rey was left alone in her small loft, she sighed and gazed at her calendar once again. Inside the angry circle was her messy scrawl ‘State v. Niima, 10yrs’.

-

Rey was seventeen when she was charged as an accomplice to production and distribution of illegal drugs.

Growing up in the foster care system, she was counting down the days until she was allowed to leave, so to be suddenly arrested for a crime she did not commit just shy of her birthday was what she least expected. To be told they had irrefutable evidence that placed her at the scene of the crime was absurd, but who would believe a teenager, an orphaned one as well?

She had been saving for years in hopes to afford a decent place when she turned eighteen, and to spend it all on a dodgy defence lawyer who flaked on multiple meetings with her only made her stomach drop on the day of the hearing. She wouldn’t forget how everyone looked at her as she was brought out, uncaring eyes judging her as if they already decided the verdict.

Since her defence attorney failed to show up to their meetings, she ended up finding out what evidence they had against her during the trail, much to her chagrin. Not only were her fingerprints and hair found at the scene of the crime, but there was also a witness that placed her there as an assistant.

Most people involved in the drug cartel were shot dead during the bust, so when there was evidence that someone was unaccounted for, the police did everything they could to find that person. With no other survivors, the prosecutor, a slimy orange haired man, was determined to try her, send a message that even underage people would not be spared in the war against drugs.

If she was found guilty, any hope of being free would be dust. Life was cruel, and to be shifted from one legal system to another was grim. Her defence lawyer wasn’t doing anything, and the evidence seemed iron-clad, until they brought out the supposed witness.

Like everyone else, her eyes never left the witness. He was short with beady eyes, stuttering out his testimony as he refused to meet Rey’s eyes. Something didn’t feel right. She had seen him somewhere before, but where?

As the court was dismissed for the day, she tried asking her lawyer about the witness, only to be brushed aside and taken back to her foster home. She didn’t sleep a wink that night, desperately trying to remember where she had seen him before.

It wasn’t until she was making her way up the long stairs up the courthouse that she remembered. She ran off into a sprint to tell her lawyer, only to be greeted by new defence attorney. The new one looked much better than the one she originally hired. For one, he looked professional with a clean pressed suit, and not only did he arrive to court on time, but before she did too. He looked well educated with lots of experience under his belt, reassuring her that he knew what he was doing, and it showed because four days later, the judge slammed his gavel with the verdict ‘Not Guilty’.

It turned out that the witness used to work for Unkar Plutt, the head of the foster care system that Rey was registered with, and was the one the police was looking for, not her. The witness had randomly taken her DNA samples from the office to plant around the drug warehouse, in case the police ever busted their operation. He would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for Rey’s new defence attorney, who traced him back to Plutt, which brought into question why he was collecting DNA from children in the foster care system in the first place. It turned out that Plutt was aiding several crime syndicates by selling DNA of orphans to be used as scapegoats.

Rey left the courtroom in high spirits, knowing that a separate court case would be needed to know the full extent of Plutt’s crimes. When she asked how much his services were, the lawyer merely replied, “Your Other has already taken care of that. I’ll be in contact to finish up any paperwork I need you to look over, so until then, good day, Miss Niima.”

Left alone outside the courthouse, Rey stared after her lawyer, San Tekka, she had found out, with a million questions plaguing her mind. Her _Other_? Weren’t they just fairytales? Her heart expanded as the child within her jumped for joy. She always assumed Others were stories the older kids at the orphanage told her to give her hope; never did she think _she_ would have one. Lips wedged between teeth, she turned around, expecting her Other to be there waiting for her, only there was no one.

She was alone.

-

When Rey swung by the station the next day to collect some notes she had left behind, she caught sight of Rose already at her desk. “God, you’re in early,” Rey said, coming up to perch on the edge of her desk.

“Yeah, there were a lot of call ins last night and...well, you know the rest,” Rose said, glaring at the stack of papers that threatened to fall over.

“Well, at least you’ve got an early start on them. Can’t say the same for Poe.” The pair looked over at their friend’s desk; folders and papers stacked precariously on top of one another that it was hard to see the actual desk itself.

“He needs to take after Finn,” Rose said, nodding at her boyfriend’s tidy desk. “Then again, paperwork is the last thing he would want to do after the day he had yesterday.”

“Who’s the defence attorney that has him so worked up?” Sure, to an outsider, defence attorneys seemed to undo all the hard work that cops did, but Rey didn’t take any of it personally. She knew they were only doing their job, just like how it was her job to make sure evidence was collected and documented properly for court. Finn was an excellent officer, immaculate performance and clerical record, so why was he so worried?

“Kylo Ren is in charge of defending the B&E Finn arrested a few weeks ago,” Rose explained.

Rey’s mouth formed an ‘O’ in understanding. Kylo Ren was infamous to all police, attorneys and judges in the area. Known for his meticulously strict work ethic and intense office hours, he was legendary to everyone. No one could just hire him off the street. No, he _chose_ his clients, hand picked them and approached them before they could even figure out who to call for bail. He was also intimidating as hell. Rey had only seen pictures of him, never had to deal with him personally, and understood to an extent how this man turned Finn’s confidence to mush. He had dark eyes that were said to pierce through any deception in the courtroom, which aided him in winning so many cases. According to Finn, he also showed up out of nowhere without making a sound, towering over everyone with his foreboding presence. Rey remembered rolling her eyes at Finn’s dramatic description, not taking him serious at all. Lawyers were humans after all.

Rey heard a story a few years back that he used to work at the DA’s office, only to move and continue as a _defence attorney_ when he got into a disagreement with a fellow prosecutor. Disagreement was putting it lightly, since some cops that were around had on good authority that they had never seen Kylo Ren so livid in their life.

Nothing but gossip and stories, Rey concluded. Until she dealt with Kylo Ren herself, she wouldn’t believe a word of it. After all, she knew all too well how damaging loose lips and assumptions could be. Times had changed, and treatment towards less privileged groups were better, but the fact she could still see that gap that divided them, always brought a scowl to Rey’s face.

Just as she was about to leave Rose alone to do her work, a pair of returning officers caught her eye. She watched them like a hawk as they laughed and messed around. Urgh, she hated it when officers messed around like that, especially when they were still on duty. Just as they looked like they were about to go get coffee, one of the officers placed a bag of evidence on their desk. Rey’s eyes narrowed, feet striding across the room in brisk steps.

“What is this, Officer?” she demanded, inspecting the evidence the pair just collected. There was no description on the bag, along with other important details missing.

The officers froze, knowing they had messed up big time. “I-I...O-Officer Niima, we didn’t see you there,” the officer stuttered, floundering for words.

“Doesn’t matter if you saw me here or not. All evidence collected have to be properly labelled with date, time and biological status. This is basic police work. You’re taught this on day one, so why aren’t you doing it?” They quivered in their shoes and rightfully so; she would rather have the officers terrified of her than to make sloppy mistakes.

“W-We’re sorry, ma’am.” One of the officers meekly took the bag and scribbled the details onto the bag.

“Ah, ah, ah! You’re not going to _leave_ it here, are you?” She looked at them expectantly.

“No, ma’am!” The pair rushed towards the evidence locker, eager to rectify their mistakes so Rey would leave them alone.

Behind her, Rose blew out a low whistle. “You’re almost like the Kylo Ren of the police department, Rey. Maybe you two should go get coffee sometime. I bet you both would get on like a house on fire!”

“Finn would have a heart attack if he heard you suggest that.”

“Well, it’s a good thing he isn’t here!” Rose threw her a wink before getting back to her paperwork.

Rey shook her head at the absurd idea of dating the infamous defence attorney, and chuckled. She respected lawyers, so long as they gave her the same respect, and preferred their relationship to remain professional. Besides, she barely dated anyone and didn’t plan on starting any time soon.

Not because of her Other, of course. Nope, not them at all, she kept telling herself.

-

Upon turning eighteen, Rey applied for the police force in her state.

The documents that San Tekka had given her were certainly an eye opener. The main reason why the prosecution was able to build such a strong case against her boiled down to sloppy police work that no one wanted to address. If her DNA was swiftly collected and sent to the lab for analysis, then there would have been a chance that the lab technicians could have come to the conclusion that the samples were not fresh, rather thawed and frozen multiple times beforehand. However, the officer who bagged Rey’s DNA had left it on their desk for the night, not bothering to send the samples to the lab until middle of the following day. They was some noticeable degradation, but because the evidence was left out for so long, no one even thought to consider that the evidence was planted.

Rey breezed through all her exams, both physical and written. She was serious, but no one knew just how serious she was until she heard someone higher ranking officers joking about the suspect they had apprehended. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, which left the officers red-faced and embarrassed.

She didn’t become a police officer in hopes to cruise around in her police car and run red lights. No, with her experience, she wanted to make sure no one was unfairly prosecuted like she was. Court cases relied heavily on the assumption that the police work being done was correct, so becoming a police officer was the most logical route.

Throughout her years, she had seen and heard how police officers viewed lawyers, prosecutors and defence alike. It baffled her, because why begrudge their job if the police did theirs properly? Trust in the system, and the system will stay true, Rey believed.

In her case, the system needed help, but Rey refused to think that it had anything to do with her Other. It would be an insult to San Tekka’s work if she thought the weird fairytale soulmate system had anything to do with her case, and there was no evidence to indicate so.

After all, no one had approached her.

-

Just as she was about to leave through the police station doors, her phone vibrated in her pocket. Seeing Finn’s name, she happily answered it. “What’s up?”

“Rey! Oh my god, I’m so glad you answered,” Finn said urgently before she could even get her greeting out. “Where are you right now? Are you still at the station?”

“Whoa, whoa, buddy, yeah, I am. Usually you’re a lot more relaxed on your days off than this.”

There was a groan, followed by the muffling sound of Finn’s phone swapping hands. “You think you could do me a favor? I’ll make it  up to you, I swear. Next time we’re out, drinks are on me!”

“Mmmm,” Rey hummed. “Sounds pretty desperate.”

“I just—” Finn let out a frustrated noise before composing himself. “You think you could swing by the defence’s office and pass on something for me? You don’t even have to talk to the guy, just give it to him; if he’s not there, even better, but he called me this morning asking for—” As Finn continued to ramble on, Rey noticed Rose waving to get her attention.

“Who’s that?” Rose mouthed.

Covering the mouthpiece, Rey whispered back to her. “It’s Finn. He needs me to pass something to his defence attorney. Wha—Yes, Finn, I’m still here. Don’t worry, I’ll do it. Yes, I know it’s Kylo Ren. I don’t know what the big deal about him is,” she muttered as she rummaged through Finn’s drawers, locating the manilla folder and USB she needed. “Okay, I got it. Yes, yes, it’ll be fine. You’re worrying for nothing. Now, I gotta go or do you want to keep Kylo waiting?” There was a rushed _‘okay,_ bye!’ before the line disconnected.

A short car ride later and Rey found herself in front of glass doors with office hours printed clear across the surface. Monday to Friday. It was Saturday. Finding the door unlocked, she hoped to God she wasn’t coming in an inopportune time. A cold sweat broke out along the back of her neck, her friend’s warnings and his reputation catching up with her. Damn, she should have gotten his number off Finn to at least let him know she was coming by. No, she was being silly. If he left the front door unlocked, it was fair game.

With her head held high, she pushed open the door and made her way past the unmanned receptionist desk and down the hallway until she reached the only office open. Expecting the man to be seated at his desk, she let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the room empty. She peered into the room and warily stepped inside, constantly looking behind her as if he would appear any moment. He was definitely around; the screen of his laptop was on and locked, and papers were strewn across his mahogany desk as if he was there just a minute ago. Must have stepped out for a moment, probably to use the bathroom, Rey guessed as she placed the manilla folder and USB on his desk. Spying a Post-It pad, she grabbed a pen and quickly scrawled a note for him. Giving her note a once over before peeling it off the pad to stick on the folder, his desk phone suddenly rang, surprising her. Knowing he would return any moment and not particularly wanting to deal with him, Rey hurriedly stuck the note on his desk just as the answering machine picked up the call.

“ _Ben Solo, I swear to Christ, call your mother. She’s about ready to get on a plane to drag you home herself. Me too, by the way. If I need to go to the Senator’s dinner, then so do you!”_

Rey stared at the phone as the line went dead, cheeks flushing with guilt as she had obviously heard a very personal message left for Kylo Ren. At least, she assumed it was for Kylo Ren, despite the names not matching. Probably a pseudonym he used for his profession. It sounded a lot softer than Kylo Ren.

“Ben Solo,” she whispered, only to freeze when a barrage of images assaulted her mind in an instant.

Blurs all around her, then solid images; two people looking down at her, then another, and another. Multiple birthday cakes with more candles than the last and laughter all around her. She— _Ben_ —stood in front of a mirror, frantically trying to hide his overly large ears on his first day of school. His head of dark, thick curls did little to hide them, his little mouth pouting with annoyance at the fact. His parents smiled at him and took pictures; his Mom pulling at his cheeks while his Dad ruffled his hair and destroyed any attempt he had made to tidy his hair.

She watched as he grew older; his hair becoming longer and features more pronounced. As his life whizzed past her, she got a better idea of his family and home life. There was Uncle Luke who loved him like his own, always around to play sports and joke with him. Uncle Lando, though not blood related, was treated like one of their own. No one batted an eye whenever he showed up unannounced; it was how they were.

Then there were his parents.

With a Senator for a mother and an ex-drug dealer for a father, things always got tense whenever his father’s past got brought up. Whilst Han was no longer affiliated to his sordid past, Ben never saw eye to eye with his father because of it. He always saw how stressed and tired his mother became when a drug-related incident happened and her office was bombarded by the public. Ben’s goal to become a lawyer didn’t make things easier either. Uncle Luke had joked one time that he should become a prosecutor, that it would be incredibly ironic for Han to be surrounded by figureheads that would end the profession that made him the man he was. Obviously, Ben found it hilarious and moved towards criminal law, becoming a distinguished prosecutor within the first few years of passing his bar exams.

He was happy, Rey could feel it, until he was twenty-seven.

A case came by his office — _her case_. His colleague snatched it up immediately, which didn’t bother him one bit. Hell, he even attended the day of the court hearing. He watched from the back row as seventeen year old Rey was brought out, taking everyone in with wide eyes, only to divert them towards the floor immediately. He had rolled his eyes, knowing that seventeen was old enough to put on a show. He had firmly believed her to be guilty, until he reconvened with his colleague after the first day. As his colleague spoke with the witness, he glimpsed over her case file. “Rey Niima,” he chuckled, only to be thrown into a vortex of memories.

He watched an orphan grow up with nothing, to be loved by no one, and to be moved from one house to another, feeling like a burden to everyone around her. He saw a girl in hand-me-down clothes that hung off her frame, always alone in school and life. He saw the shock as her current foster family looked down at her with judgmental eyes when the police showed up for her.

It was quite jarring watching herself from someone else’s point of view; to see glimpses of her life that she didn’t even remember, more specifically where she had seen the witness before. After that, things fell in place. Ben realised the system was going to fail her — his _Other_ — someone who didn’t stand a chance from the moment she was born.  

He had firmly believed that if a defendant was ever truly innocent, then the system would prevail, which was another reason why he became a prosecutor to begin with. Her memories and life contradicted that. He couldn’t continue doing what he was doing, not with what he knew.

He stopped working for the DA from that moment. He asked an old family friend, San Tekka, to become Rey’s new defence attorney, with nothing more than ‘she’s my Other’ as an explanation.

Using memories from your Other was not admissible in court. Evidence would always be required, but he didn’t worry about that. He knew Rey was innocent, and with her memories, he knew what lead to take next.

Four days later and he watched her look around outside the courthouse, San Tekka next to him as they watched Rey’s face deflate when she realised her Other would not appear.

“You’re not going to tell her?” San Tekka asked.

Ben had looked at him in disgust. “She’s _seventeen_. I’m ten years older than her. I’m not about to swoop in and tell her anything. No, I’ve given her what she needs to finally live her life. If she has any common sense, she won’t waste it.”

He couldn’t help it though, it was natural for him to keep tabs on her as the years went by. Much to his horror, she became a police officer, which made him want to crawl into a hole and die. Most officers hated him. That was a fact. If it wasn’t his profession, then it was his personality. No one seemed to appreciate his endeavours to make sure officers learnt from their mistakes. Or the fact that he referred to officers by their ID number, much to Rey’s amusement.

He couldn’t help but smile when he had found out she created a similar reputation for herself amongst her coworkers. At least she had integrity, he had thought, still refusing to approach her. Too many years had already passed, he had to commit and continue to carefully avoid any cases she was involved with. Lord only knew how pissed she would be at him, especially since San Tekka had foolishly told her that her Other had hired him.

More years passed, one moment catching her eye. It was Finn, trying his best to hold his ground as Ben said nothing and looked at him expectantly. From what Rey could tell, officers were just intimidated by him, even though he didn’t do anything and waited patiently for them to say something.

Time started to slow down and return to a more normal speed. He got up early in that morning to work on the B&E case, stopping by his favourite coffee shop to order his usual coffee. She watched as he sipped his disgustingly sweet coffee and almost agreed he was not for her, right then and there. He worked for a few hours before deciding to stretch his legs for a bit, checking the time and impatiently wondering when Officer FN-2187 would deliver the files he needed.

He was returning from the bathroom when he heard the end of his answering machine record a message. Just as he begrudgingly reminded himself to block out time to fly home, he stopped short at the new person in his office, back facing him but there was no denying who it was. Her hair was in her three buns he had come to love.

“It’s you,” he uttered, snapping Rey back to reality.

She swivelled on the balls of her feet and froze at the sight of Ben Solo. He was taller than what she expected, and bigger too. All of the sudden, she understood why everyone complained about him looking down at them; he technically did with his outrageous height. His hair was also longer in person, the tips of his ears still poking from his tresses. Amongst his wide shoulders and broad chest, he looked utterly ridiculous with the shocked expression on his face. Her eyes fell on his thick lips, slightly parted as he gaped at her. This was the man she waited for the past ten years to show up, the man who saved her and left her all at once.

That fact was like a bucket of ice water being doused over her. In two steps, she crossed the room, face becoming hot with rage as she came close to punching him. Her fist stopped an inch before his face, catching herself and noticing he didn’t flinch at all. Instead, she shoved his shoulder roughly, watching as despite his large frame, he stumbled back a few steps. “You left me,” she accused.

He nodded dumbly, eyes no longer wide with shock, but rather darting around frantically to find a way out. He could turn around and run, but Rey was more than capable to chase him down _and_ she already knew who her Other was. There was no point in running. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, hands twitching by his side.

That wasn’t good enough. “Why? Why didn’t you reach out to me?” she asked with narrowed eyes.

It was his turn for his face to flush with anger. “Really, Rey? I didn’t expect you to be someone who relied on the soulmate system.”

“I-I’m not!”

“Then you know why I never contacted you! You were still a minor when I found you!”

“Then what about after?!”

He scoffed. “What do you think would have happened if I, a defence attorney, started dating you, my Other who was still trying to become an established _police officer_?”

Rey pressed her lips together into a thin line, finger still pointing at him accusingly.

“It wouldn’t be fair on you, and you know that. People would discredit your work and you wouldn’t get to where you are now. You’ve had your life controlled by society and the government, it only made sense to never contact you. If you found love elsewhere, then that would be fine.”

“Love?” The concept was so foreign to her. Sure, she knew what it was like to have close friends who were basically family, but to love someone like life partners was wild to her. She didn’t even know where to start or what to do to even get to that stage. “Who said anything about love?” she said defensively.

“Rey,” he said again. “Don’t worry, I feel it too. It’s what happens when Others meet for the first time.” As if to prove his point, he moved closer until he was right in front of her. He let out a shaky breath, hands still firmly clenched into tight fists at his side.

There was a moment of confusion until she became hyper aware of every little movement he made. She tilted her head and watched as his adam’s apple bobbed up and down, skin glistening slightly from sweat. Her eyes moved up, taking in every little mole that decorated his face, glancing over his prominent nose and full lips, and stopping at his brown eyes. There was something there, no doubt about it, but she didn’t like it. Sure, she had seen his life pass before her eyes — _literally_ — but that didn’t mean anything to her. She didn’t _know_ him, and yet, her hand still came up to hover over his face, her finger dangerously close to stroke the bridge of his nose. “I shouldn’t be here,” she whispered.

“I know,” he replied.

“No, I mean, I can’t afford to do this right now. I have exams to study for,” she explained, trying to back away from him, only to bump into his desk. “I don’t have time to figure this Other-soulmate stuff out.”

“Detective exams, I know.” He paused and leaned down suddenly, as if he was going to kiss her.

She let out a small squeak but didn’t move, too startled and terrified of what was going to happen. With becoming a police officer and now trying to become a detective, she didn’t have time for dating and the like, especially when she knew she had an Other. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself against his desk, heart thumping loudly against her ribs. If he kissed her, she was a goner, she could tell. She was already curious about him, but if she didn’t escape now, she knew any concentration that weekend was out the window.

“When’s your exam?” he asked, breath hot against her cheek. He smelt nice.

“Tuesday,” she replied softly, inhaling every bit of his cologne. She wanted to hold him so bad, to have his arms wrap around her and never let go. To be loved like Others did.

“Tuesday,” he parroted. He pressed a light kiss high on her cheek and moved away, taking with him any tension in the air. “I’d love to see you after your exams are done, if you’d have me.”

“Yeah,” she said, her slow nod becoming more enthusiastic. “Yeah, I’d like that. Oh, by the way, you have a message on your answering machine.” She pointed at the blinking light on his desk, feeling foolish for even mentioning it. Before she could stop herself, she continued. “You shouldn’t leave Han alone at Leia’s Senator dinner.”

His dark eyes widened slightly at how familiar she was with those names. “Would you like to come?”

Oh, shit. “No, that’s not what I meant! Not that it wouldn’t be lovely to go with you, but I don’t really know you, and it would be awkward and—”

“It’s at the end of the month, so three weeks from now. How about this: after your exams, we’ll go for coffee and see where that takes us? If it’s too soon or just doesn’t work out, no worries. I don’t have to tell my folks anything, and if you just happen to decide to come last minute, then I’m sure no one would mind. God knows, Dad would die for an excuse not to talk to Mom’s colleagues.”

She grinned at his words. “What would Han say if he heard you refer to him as ‘Dad’?”

“He’ll never know because you wouldn’t dare tell him,” he said seriously.

“What makes you so sure?”

He moved close to her again, dropping another kiss, but on her forehead this time. “Because you’re my Other. I just _know_.”

“Maybe I like to mix things up a bit? Keep you on your toes so you don’t get too comfortable with our connection.” She tried to look earnest, but couldn’t fight the smile that threatened to break.

“I’d like that.” He leaned forward again, downwards this time.

Rey dodged his kiss by a millisecond, twisting out from under him and putting as much space between them as possible. “I better go study now! I-I’ll call you when I’m done!” She quickly fled from his office, but not before catching his pout and sullen expression from having the chance to her kiss her stolen from him. She didn’t know how she was going to study for her exam; she was practically bouncing with glee and her heart filled with hope, but she had to concentrate. No way was her Other going to be the reason she failed her exams!

She barely made it out the building before dialing Finn’s number; she could already see the look of horror when he found out that they wouldn’t have met if it wasn’t for him.

 


End file.
